Soundbite Edition 735 – Colleges Week 2024 and £60b boost in the economy due to International Students…
Welcome to FE Soundbite Edition 735, March 2nd, 2024: Colleges Week 2024 and £60b boost in the economy due to International Students…
This is the weekly e-newsletter and e-journal by FE News: ISSN 2732-4095. We know life is busy, so here is a snapshot of the latest announcements and epic thought leadership articles, from sector influencers and cool thinkers across FE and Skills this week on FE News
Gavin’s Reflective Perspective
I hope you enjoyed Colleges Week this week. I personally thought AoC’s Lewis Cooper and Skills Minister Rob Halfon’s reflections were really interesting. Colleges Week wouldn ‘t be complete without the Beacon Awards. Here are the list of winners if you missed it in the mayhem of your week.
We have a big chunk of content coming for National Careers Week next week.. which is great as Careers often feel overlooked, but are vital for people to know which routes to take at the beginning of their learner journey and career, but also for career changer and returners. So I am looking forward to that… as is Rob Halfon, as he is writing another piece again (twice in two weeks)!
Outside of Colleges Week, this week we had some epic articles, I know a lot of people were away with conferences and supporting Colleges Week, so I would highly recommend cool articles from Al Kingsley, Guildhawk and a cool podcast from AI guru Richard Foster Fletcher.
Report wise, I would recommend checking out UUK’s report on the importance of the Graduate Visa and International students staying on in the UK generates in the tune of £60B! Announcing this just before the budget, (which is next Wednesday)… is very interesting. It also shows the importance of one side of the UK education system and how much money this generates for the UK economy!
Thanks to Finley and Holly who have put together Soundbite this week. You may not be aware, but this will be Finley’s last Soundbite for a while, as next week (on Budget Day), she is heading off on maternity leave. So thank you Finley and we wish you and babes all the best!
Thank you also to Holly who will be stepping in as Finley’s maternity cover for Platform Growth Manager at FE News and I couldn’t think of a better person for the role, she has supported everyone brilliantly in the transition, even before there was a transition, so it felt right to have both Finley and Holly put Soundbite together this week.
Our Top 3 Thought Leadership Articles This Week
Robert Halfon Reflects on Colleges Week. We even had the Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education write for us in the celebrations of Colleges Week!
Colleges Week 2024 Kicks Off! By Lewis Cooper, Association of Colleges (AoC). It’s never been a more important time to champion the role colleges play for people, employers and communities!4
Time for FE governors to stand up. By Ruby Parmar, Milton Keynes College Group. Ruby urges FE governors to raise awareness about the sector’s transformative impact and underlining its societal value.
This week, we have also had some other epic exclusives:
- How education can make AI a friend not a foe, by Suraj Mohandas and Mat Pullen, Jamf
- Power up your teaching practice with online community support, by Al Kingsley, NetSupport
- Are educational institutions truly harnessing the power of technology? By Elizabeth Ellis, Arden University
- The Importance of Career Guidance, by Jakki Lovewell, Apprentice Employment Agency (a division of Nicholas Associates Group)
What’s New in the World of FE?
The winners of the 2023/24 Association of Colleges Beacon Awards were announced in a ceremony in Westminster. Find out the winners here!
Since the launch of the government’s International Education Strategy in 2019, growth in international student recruitment to the UK has delivered a boost of more than £60 billion to the UK’s economy, new analysis from Universities UK shows.
Young people are now more likely to experience a common mental disorder (CMD) than any other age group, according to new Resolution Foundation research published.
A lot has happened this Colleges Week, catch up on some of our FE Voices this week:
- 2024: The year of upskilling, by Jeanette Wheeler, MHR
- My career in automotive, by Christian Klaere, Automotive
- Institutes of Technology: Bridging the Skills Gap, by Georgina Barnard, Newcastle and Stafford College’s Director of the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Institute of Technology.
- Unlocking Success in Life: The Crucial Role of Early Life Skills’ Development in Young People, by Neil Wolstenholme, Kloodle
- Revealed: The secret killer of AI few talk about, Guildhawk
- AI and Personalised Learning Podcast Series – Episode 1: AI, Leadership, and Further Education, Richard Foster-Fletcher of MKAI.org
- Is flexible working the key to boosting performance and teacher well-being? By Joanne Moseley at Irwin Mitchell
In The Know
People to look out for next week for exclusive thought leadership on FE News:
- Rob Halfon, Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education is planning on writing again for National Careers Week!
- Spencer Mehlman, National Skills Agency
- Mischa McInerney, Digital Marketing Institute
We hope that you’ve enjoyed this week’s soundbite. Now that you’re all caught up on what’s happening in the FE Sector this week, we hope you have a restful weekend!
Finley Vile, Platform Growth Manager, FE News
Holly Wheaton, Digital Project Manager, FE News
Gavin O’Meara, CEO and Founder, FE News
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